The Weight of Clean Hands

On self-deception, power, and the ruin we leave behind.

I can imagine him, surrounded by men with clenched jaws, their shoulders tight, their cognitive gymnastics medal-worthy. He tells them, “We have no choice.” He adds, “Our country is counting on us.”

One man swallows, as if to dislodge a lump in his throat.

He leans forward, eyes fixed on that man. “What would you have me do?” he says.

I can imagine this happening in June of 2019, hours after Myka Ulpina, age 3, was shot to death during a drug raid at her home in Rodriguez town, the Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte, having won his position on the promise of waging a war against drugs, would not have been concerned about Myka. His calling was much higher. It was righteous. "I hate drugs,” he has said. “Make no mistake about it."